New England Revolution trounced by Los Angeles Galaxy
Jul 16, 2014; Carson, CA, USA; Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Stefan Ishizaki (24) and New England Revolution defender Jose Goncalves (23) battle for the ball at StubHub Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The New England Revolution traveled west to the city of angels Wednesday night hoping to snap a dreadful five-game losing skid. Instead it was the Los Angeles Galaxy dealing the Revs a demoralizing beating. Outstanding play from Robbie Keane and Gyasi Zardes propelled the Galaxy to a monstrous 5-1 win over New England.
New England entered the game seeking a fresh start as they kicked-off the second half of their season against one of the Western Conference’s top clubs. Many of the same mistakes which had plagued them amid their losing streak crept into their game once again and Los Angeles made good on punishing them for it.
Both teams, playing in their second of three matches in the span of seven days, lost a man to a red card. Each side played the majority of the contest a man down.
Revs midfielder A.J. Soares was ejected in the 29th minute after a hard challenge on the Galaxy’s Juninho. He was forced to leave the game for medical attention. Galaxy defender Dan Gargan was tossed shortly thereafter in the 34th minute. Gargan took down Ted Bunbury of the Revs in the box, which was deemed an ejectable offense.
The Revs have struggled out of the gate in recent weeks with sloppy play, showing an inability to generate offensive pressure. Los Angeles struck early and proceeded to pour it on a Revs team which seemed as if it was in a daze.
Keane had an early goal waived off at the onset of the match due to an offsides call, but in the 10th minute he banged one home for the opening score.
The Galaxy doubled their lead in the 18th minute as Zardes beat Revs keeper Bobby Shuttleworth to make it 2-0 less than 20 minutes into the match.
Lee Nguyen of the Revs scored his team’s lone goal on a penalty shot in the 36th minute after Bunbery drew a penalty. It was just one of three first half shots generated by Jay Heaps’ squad.
Zardes added his second goal of the contest in the 48th minute. With the score reading 3-1, the Revs began to wake up, finally mounting an improved offensive attack. Their chances ultimately fell by the wayside and the Galaxy turned the game into a landslide.
The Galaxy’s Stefan Ishizaki found the back of the net on a free kick in the 75th minute to give his team a 4-1 advantage. Ishizaki curled a beauty of a ball past a defenseless Shuttleworth.
Keane struck again for Los Angeles just three minutes later. Shuttleworth was caught out of position and as a result the Galaxy’s fifth goal came via an empty net.
With all things considered, the Revs are fortunate the score wasn’t a lot worse. Poor positioning all evening proved fatal. They found themselves uncomfortably scrambling about the pitch far to frequently.
The loss marked New England’s sixth defeat in a row. They’ll return to action Saturday night against Dallas. They haven’t registered a point since May 31.